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Those luminous blue eyes searched mine. I didn’t call the condo home. Dallas wasn’t home either. My home was with Delaney.
As we loaded into the elevator, I bent to kiss her, but she put a finger on my lips. “I feel like I need to confess that I’m also jobless. And I’m homeless.” When I blinked, she continued. “When I told Ma I was chasing after you, she saidgood. She wants to downsize, and eventually Kane will rent out the pastures.”
“I’m sure I can get my room back at the motel. We’ll figure it out.” I pulled her close. “There’s just one stop I want to make first. Two, because I’m gonna get you and me silicone rings we can wear twenty-four seven.”
* * *
The dirt road stretched in front of us. The trunk was full of dishes and books, and the back seat was filled with shoes and clothing. The furniture we put up for sale with the condo, and we donated everything else. I gave my housekeeper and chef an excellent reference and added my own severance package.
Delaney worried about money and where to live, but I hadn’t busted my ass for seven years for nothing. I had an idea for a belated wedding gift, but I wanted to wait until we returned to Coal Haven.
“It’s a little flatter, but it really does look like home.” Delaney peered out the window, her sunglasses perched on her nose. She had donned the only pair of jeans she’d packed. Her shirt was the same one she’d worn when she came to the office, and her hair hung loose.
My GPS prompted me to turn. Cows dotted the pastures. Short trees were scattered in the distance where there must have been a water source. I followed the road to a squat cabin with a detached garage and a fairly new shop.
There were neatly cropped bushes by the house and trees scattered around the shop and yard. Nothing like I was used to, but that was a good thing. Relief streamed through my veins as I pulled up in front of the cabin.
A tall, lanky figure walked out. He looked the same. A plaid shirt neatly tucked in to worn and faded jeans held up with a black belt. He wasn’t wearing the beat-up, dirty cowboy hat I thought had been issued to him when he was born.
I parked and went around the car, but Delaney didn’t wait for me to open her door and get out.
I came to a stop next to her and faced the man. “Hi, Dad.”
His smile showed a few more wrinkles, but the sweltering stress from when Ansen and I were growing up was gone. “Archer, hi. And you must be Delaney. Cheryl’s daughter?”
“Don’t hold it against me.”
He laughed, the same rusty sound I remembered. “Only if you don’t hold my siblings against me.” He pushed a hand through his russet hair. More gray lined his temples and was sprinkled over his head than before. “Where are my manners? Come in, come in.”
He opened the door and ushered me and Delaney inside. I hadn’t been worried about what I’d see, but this wasn’t the house I grew up in. There wasn’t one half-empty can of beer. The floor had been mopped, but not like Dad had busted ass when I’d called him and asked if I could introduce him to my wife. He kept this place clean.
Dad crowded in behind us. “Don’t worry ’bout your shoes. Have a seat.”
“It’s nice, Dad.” I led Delaney to the couch and took a seat next to her. I felt like a guest. Everything was unfamiliar. But I’d change that, starting with this visit, the first of many.
“It’s a place to hang my hat.” He arranged an auction ad on the end table and wiped off an invisible speck of dust.
“No, Dad. I’m really sorry for how I acted after I left for college.” I hadn’t meant to dive into the deep end right away, but he was moving nervously around us like he couldn’t quit cleaning the place.
“There’s nothin’ to apologize for.”
“There’s everything to apologize for.” I sought Delaney’s hand and told Dad the story of how we met and why she left. “Being in Coal Haven, doing all the same work I did growing up, brought back a lot of memories.”
Dad dipped his head, like this was hard to hear.
“Good ones, Dad. You and me and Ansen. Mama.”
His eyes got glassy, and he gazed out the window. “I miss that woman. She put up with a lot.”
“But you kept going, and I took that for granted.”
“I made so many mistakes, Archer.” His gaze grew wistful. “So many mistakes. But I’m in a good place now. And you?” He grinned and looked at Delaney. “I was happy with how you turned out before, but now I’m thrilled.”
“I’m jobless and homeless.” I was partially joking. My savings would get poured into my surprise for Delaney, and after we sold the condo, the housing portion would be taken care of. We weren’t destitute, and ultimately that had been my goal growing up. To be able to provide for the ones I loved.
“You’ll be fine.” He nodded like he knew for a fact. “If I taught you anything, it was what not to do, and if I went through that special hell so you know how to do better, then I’m okay.”
Dad’s confidence was humbling. He was a flawed man, just like anyone. But he wasn’t a user like Mr. Truitt, and he’d taught me and my brother better whether we knew it or not. “Ansen? Do you hear from him often?”
